Electrically welded high pressure gas container



July 10, 1934.

R. FURRER Filed Jan. 15, 1930 ELECTRICALLY WELDED HIGH PRESSURE GAS CONTAINER INVENTOR. Rudolph Furrer ATTORNEY.

wall thickness which gradually increases from formed have a wall thickness approximating that 7 mama July 10, 1934 Q I Q 1,966,241

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRICALLY WELDED HIGH PRESSUR GAS CONTAINER Rudolph Furrer, Wauwatosa, Wis., assignor to A. 0. Smith Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of New York Application January 15, 1930, Serial No. 421,012 5 Claims. (Cl. 220-3) This invention relates to an electrically welded ever, the great wall thickness required in the high pressure gas container. cylindrical, shaped vessels in order to withstand The container is particularly adapted for the the high pressures employed makes the use of transportation, under high pressures, of relatively such forged vessels expensive and almost pro- 5 light gases such as helium, as set forth in my hibi'tive in the case of transporting light gases,

copending application, Serial No. 374,713 such as helium.

The object of the invention is to provide a con- The present invention adapts the spherical tainer which will withstand the high pressures tank construction to the transportation of required more safely. helium under high pressure and thereby provides 10 Another object is to provide a high pressure gas an economical and safe transportation for this container which has a greater capacity per unit and other valuable gases. The invention of weight of metal, giving consideration to the incourse may be employed in the transportation creased capacity due togreater gas pressures of other gases and for other purposes. employed, and which is simple in construction In the manufacture of the container, two flat 15 and more economical to manufacture. plates of metal having a thickness approximating According to the invention, the container is an that of the minimum required thickness of the integral metal sphere formed from two hemivessel, for example, one and one-half inches, are spheres welded together at their meeting cirspun or otherwise pressed into complemental hemcumferential edges, the hemispheres having a ispherical shape. The hemispheres 1 and 2 thus the centers or common axis to the outer periphof -the'original plate at their centers and a graderal welded edges of the hemispheres. ualy iiicrelasinihwallfthi tl llrlness Itlowards title pe- The invention may be more readily understood p e a 9 88 e e 115 W ere & D 8 pin its various features by reference to the accom- DrOXimflting O a O e-half inches in thickness 25 panying drawing in which: I is employed, the hemispheres approximate one Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container and one-half inches in thickness at their centers, embodying the invention. marked A in the drawing, Fig. 2, and approxi- Fig. 2 is a vertical central section through the mettle about two inches in thickness at the pecontainer. rip eral edges thereof, marked B in Fig. 2. This 30 Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail transverse section al increase in thickness y be readily th parts arranged for welding, tained in the spinning or pressingoperation.

Fig. 4 is a similar section showing the finished h The lfl 31 E 51 g 4 0f l a p i r l i eld, I emisp eres are en m e or p ane so a Fig. 5 is an enlargedsection of the valve d when the hemispheres are arranged in assembled 35 connections for the container. relation, as shown in Fig. 3, the edges will bein The container is substantially spherical and Slight angular relationship. is preferably constructed of a high tensile tfi' g gh ii p gres g1: assembled 1: sulcli mannelr .stren th steel, such as chrome vanadium alloy ee ges an new space re 1011 an steel, which will provide a more economical togelfher with a Chill backing ring a, form a 40 manufacture, having consideration for the re- T backlng {mg 5 1s preferquired strength, capacity and weight of the tank. ably provided wlth clrcumferentla'l groove wlimh The container is particularly adapted to the forms the base of the welding groove and provides Star e and trans ortation of n ht as'es such a groove of greater depth than the wall thickness fi d p 1 1 i g of the hemispheres. In order to properly posi as 8 un er re W Y 1g tnessures as tion the chill ring 5 within the sphere and space zooo or more pounds per Square when the edges of the two hemispheres uniformly, it Fonstructed for use on tafnk as a has been found desirable to provide locating lugs Illustrated m my COPePdmg, evpllcetlon above 7 on the interior surface of the hemispheres. The referred to, the containers are approximately locating lugs may be secured to the interior zfi fi n in diameteltand have mlglmum K 1 face in any suitable manner such as by spot weldic ess approxima ing one an onea ing. inches. After assembling the hemispheres in the man-- Heretofore. containers for high pressure transner above indicated, the edges are welded toportation of gases have been forged from a single gether preferably by electric arc welding. wherein 55 steel ingot into cylindrical shaped vessels. Howa fusible electrode is employed. The electrode is preferably of a composition such that the weld metal deposited has substantially the same composition as that of the hemispheres.

The welding metal is deposited in layers and the first layer penetrates into the backing or chill ring and integra1lyunites the same with the edges being welded. The subsequent layers are interfused and substantially fill the welding groove 6. The weld thus produced is substantially 25 to 30% thicker than the required minimum thickness of the vessel and thereby provides a greater margin of safety.

The gradual increase in wall thickness of the hemispheres from the center or pole towards the welded edges and from the minimum required thickness of the vessel to the thickness of theweld-provides a more uniform stress condition in the container than would be the case were theweld metal substantially thicker than the r'netal of the edges of the hemispheres. This is particularly important in the use of these spherical containers on tank cars, such as that shown in my above mentioned copending application, for railway transportation, as it is essential to provide a container having greater safety in case of railway wrecks. On the other hand, it is important from the standpoint of economical transportation of helium to provide a container which has a minimum weight per unit capacity.

The container is provided with a valve controlled inlet and outlet 8, as shown in Fig. 5. The control valve comprises a cap 9 bolted to the sphere and. having a screw plug 10. The screw plug 10 has a conical valve seat l l, and a central passage 12 for receiving the valve 13 and valve stem 14. The valve stem 14 is threaded into the plug 10 and is provided with'a squared head 15 at its outer end.

A cover 16 normally encloses the outer end of the valve stem 14. During charging or discharging of the fluid contents of the sphere, the cover 16 is removed and apipe connection having a valve control mechanism, which engages the head 15 of the valve stem, is secured to the plug 10.

The valve 13 has a central pin 17 projecting inwardly therefrom for the purpose of engaging and opening a ball check valve 18 at the time the control valve 13 is opened. This check valve 18 is located in a plug 19 secured in the spherical tank wall and serves as a safety valve in case of injury to the outer control valve mechanism. Thus in a railway wreck the outer control valve mechanism may be entirely broken away from the sphere without allowing, the escape of the valuable fluid contents of the sphere, due to the check valve 15 which functions independently of the outer valve to seal the tank outlet.

Variousmodifications of the invention may be -maximum pressure to be applied and gradually employed within the scope of the following claims.

increasing in thickness from the apexes tothe bases, and a weld uniting the thick edges of the bases of. the hemispherical'shells to form a spherical tank.

1}. A high pressure storage tank comprising two thick walled hemispherical shells, the walls of the shells being of a predetermined thickness at the apexes suflicient to stand the maximum pressure to be applied and gradually increasing in thickness from the apexes to the bases, a weld uniting the thick edges of the" bases of the hemisphericalshells to form a spherical tank, one of said shells having an opening at the apex, and a safety valve mounted in said opening.

4. A high pressure storage tank comprising two thick walled hemisphericalshells, the walls of the shells being of a predetermined thickness at the ape res suilicient to stand the maximum pressure to be applied and gradually increasing in thickness from the apexes to the bases, a weld uniting the thick edges of the bases of the hemispherical shells to form a spherical container, and a boss formed on one of the shells, said boss having an opening therethrough leading to the interior of the container and a valve mounted in said opening and attached to said boss.

5. -A high pressure storage tank comprising two thick walled hemispherical shells, the walls of'the shells being of a predetermined thickness at the 'apexes sufilcient to 'standthe maximum 11 pressureto-be applied and gradually increasing in thickness from the apexes to the bases and a weld uniting the thick edges of the bases of the hemispherical shells, a boss formed on one of the shells,- the boss having a threaded opening 1. 5 extending therethrough to the interior of the container, and threaded holes extending into it at a distance from said opening, a valve threaded into said opening, and studs engaged in said threaded holes cooperative to'retain the valve in a position in the threaded opening. j

RUDOLPH 

